Schoolchildren at St. Ignatius School, Preston (1904)

Blackburn
1904
Silent
2m

Jubilant schoolchildren spill out of a Catholic primary school in Edwardian Preston.

While the younger children in this lively film are vigilantly corralled by their schoolmistresses, the older boys get special dispensation to react freely to Mitchell & Kenyon's cameras. As so often in these films, the action is partly staged. The schoolchildren's neat and healthy appearance is in contrast to the often visible poverty of the workers in many of the filmmakers' factory films.

Schoolchildren were a popular subject for Mitchell and Kenyon, who knew that their appearance in the films would encourage family members and friends to attend the local screenings.

The Old School Yard

Children – unsung stars of so many Mitchell & Kenyon films – take the spotlight.

The more-or-less formal school parades (plus the odd sports day) collected here present a more regimented Edwardian childhood than the one which so often bursts into M&K's other films. The films capture a transitional moment in British education, with classroom provision extended in 1902's Education Act.

With a variety of educational models on display - local authority and church-run (Anglican or Catholic) - some schools are more formal or relaxed than others. As we watch them parade, it’s hard not to be reminded that much of this new generation, so full of life and hope, was destined for the trenches of World War I.